And the New Zealander said he would love the opportunity to get Irish back to the top flight at the first time of asking.

He said: "That's my job. We've gone back a couple of steps, we would have liked to have stayed in the Premiership and built from there.

"There'll be a big process of review and I'm responsible invariably for the style of rugby we put on the field for the results so the buck stops with me.

"The first thing when you go down is you question whether people have the confidence you're going to do the job so you'll go through that process with looking at the performances and what we have progressed and the results.

"We've made some progress and it would be nice to keep the squad together, that would be the ideal.

"I've been speaking to people in this situation before that have gone down who have said the ones that bounce back are those who keep their squad together so that will be a key goal for us."

It is the first time Irish have been relegated from the Premiership in the professional era.

A run of just four wins in 21 league games means they will prop up the table, with closest rivals Newcastle Falcons six points ahead of them.

Coventry added: "I am highly disappointed. It's a sad day for the club in so many respects.

"The changing room is a morgue, as you'd imagine.

"The boys gave everything, I thought they played well at times and exerted dominance in the game but they weren't able to keep Quins at bay.

"At times we were pretty easy to get through. It's a tough place to be at the moment.

"We've got ourselves into situations where we can win games but haven't been able to finish them off.

"That hasn't been a strong point so it's more of the same really. I think we have shown signs of being in games for longer from the first five or six rounds where we were getting trounced.

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"We've steadily been in games and the scorelines reflect that. We just haven't been good enough in finishing off the big moments. Maybe it's a sign of immaturity, I'm not sure. We made a few mistakes as a coaching crew too which hasn't helped.

"But there are probably lots of things we can look back on and see if we can eliminate for going forward.

"We have to take the positives out of this year, and there's been plenty of them."

Speaking on behalf of the club’s board of directors Mick Crossan, president of London Irish, said: “We would like to reassure supporters that we remain committed to this club and to realising its potential. Relegation is a setback and we will deal with it accordingly.

"Our plans for London Irish remain the same and I would like to thank our supporters for their continued support during what has been a tough time for all involved with our club.”

Chief executive Bob Casey added: "This is a sad day in the history of this great club.

"Relegation was not part of our plans, but we have to be honest, as hard as the players and management have worked, we haven’t been good enough this season. We will learn our lessons and respect the Championship, but keep our sights firmly set on returning to the Premiership.

"The foundations at London Irish are in place; we have excellent facilities, a thriving Academy programme and outstanding support staff. Unfortunately, the progress of our rugby programme has suffered a setback this season in what has been the strongest Premiership in a long time.

"I would like to thank our supporters. We have needed you more than ever before this season and you have turned up loyally and vocally to cheer the team on. We know we have disappointed you, rest assured we will do our utmost to ensure we return to the top tier of English rugby at the first time of asking."